“I would give the greatest sunset in the world for one sight of New York’s skyline. Particularly when one can’t see the details. Just the shapes. The shapes and the thought that made them. The sky over New York and the will of man made visible. What other religion do we need? And then people tell me about pilgrimages to some dank pesthole in a jungle where they go to do homage to a crumbling temple, to a leering stone monster with a pot belly, created by some leprous savage. Is it beauty and genius they want to see? Do they seek a sense of the sublime? Let them come to New York, stand on the shore of the Hudson, look and kneel. When I see the city from my window – no, I don’t feel how small I am – but I feel that if a war came to threaten this, I would throw myself into space, over the city, and protect these buildings with my body.” –Ayn Rand

I sent this to a woman I know here in Canada. She has made an heroic leap from Lebanon to Canada. Here is her comment:

“To me the lights represent ‘life’.

“In Lebanon during the war we had electricity shortages ALL the time! The whole city would go dark at night.

“With time people ‘found ways’ and a few years into the war, the city would go dark but a few minutes later you would hear the roaring of motors everywhere around you and the city would come alive again with lights. It was a glorious sight and made me and my brothers very happy!”

She is starting to discover Ayn Rand, and I certainly wish her the best in that heroic endeavor.